Johnson has sights set on title

Ben White

Published: Monday, October 14, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at 12:28 a.m.

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, is only four points behind Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup standings. With five races remaining at Talladega, Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead, experience has taught each of them that each race serves as an opportunity to gain points — or lose them.

Johnson joined NASCAR's Sprint Cup circuit in 2001 and in 2006, began a string of five consecutive championship seasons that may never again be repeated. The native of El Cajon, Calif., is a phenomenal driver who is arguably one of the greatest in NASCAR's 65-year history.

Winning a championship is as much a mental game as it is about on-track performance. There have been many memorable verbal jabs over the years by some of NASCAR's most colorful drivers, such as Bobby Allison and Richard Petty, Allison and Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace and Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.

Johnson is soft-spoken but he has engaged in mental head games when pushed to respond to creative rhetoric. He and Denny Hamlin sparred at times in 2010, as did he and Brad Keselowski in 2012. This year, Matt Kenseth is his closest friendly rival and has been for the majority of the season.

Johnson seems to take it all in stride.

"I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the games," Johnson said at Charlotte Motor Speedway his past weekend. "I felt like with Denny, whatever our personalities; we've always given each other a hard time in a good way. There was just some opportunity there where I could jab at him. I think Kevin Harvick, at the champion's press conference we had (at Homestead-Miami Speedway last season) really opened the door for it all to start happening there. Harvick had a very helpful hand in all that and getting it going."

Johnson is going up against a former champion who has dealt with the head games himself in 2003, the year before the Chase began.

"…Matt has the experience (and) he's been a champion," Johnson said. "No one is immune to it, but I feel like with someone that hasn't won their first (title) you can suggest a few things that make them think more about it. I don't know what or if or how or any of that with Matt, if it would develop. There are other years when I've raced Jeff (Gordon) for the championship or Mark Martin, and there really wasn't anything to really mention there. So, I don't have an agenda, or plan to. I didn't necessarily in those years, either. But I'm sure there will be something to talk about once we get to Homestead."

This week's race at Talladega Superspeedway is the most unpredictable race of the Chase. Things happen very quickly ay the 2.66-mile Alabama track.

"It's never easy. I do feel very good about our chances," Johnson said. "Post-Talladega, depending on how things play out there, we'll see where we stand. But the only thing I can do right now is look back on the races we've had and think what points we've left on the table. And there really aren't many that we've left behind. So, yes there are a few points out there, but we've been very consistent. We've been competitive. We've won a race. I feel good with that."

Johnson wasn't able to keep his streak going in 2011 and 2012 but hopes to start a new dynasty in 2013. He has struggled through problems and streaks of bad luck this season. His five wins, 13 top-fives and 20 top-10s have painted an impressive picture that has placed him very close to a sixth-career championship.

"When you have a new stat of your four or five worst races ever in the history of a team it's not anything to be proud of," Johnson said. "There was a bit of, I don't know exactly what to call it, stress, or frustration that went with that. But we genuinely knew that we would be fine once the Chase started and got back to our tracks, good tracks and had a little luck turn around for us."

Ben White is a motorsports columnist for The Dispatch.

Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.